Introducing the Snapdragon 850 mobile compute platform

Given the overwhelming popularity of smartphones (77 percent of Americans own one), it’s not surprising we’re looking to our other devices for that same level of convenience. With the 10nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC Platform, we helped define the Always On, Always Connected* PC product category and experiences. From amazing beyond all day battery life** to Gigabit LTE download speeds to thin, sleek devices that run cool, mobile computing got a significant upgrade.

Now, we’re building on our leadership, delivering our second-generation 10nm platform, the Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compute Platform. The Snapdragon 850 supports many of the most sought-after smartphone features to mobile PCs in sleek, innovative form factors. By combining the freedom of the smartphone with the productivity of Windows 10 PCs, we’re transforming digital lives by empowering an entirely new class of user experiences.

The Snapdragon 850 platform is engineered to support multi-day battery life**, power up instantly, and continuous* connection to Wi-Fi or LTE while in sleep or standby mode — just like your smartphone. All of this is combined with the productivity and entertainment of a security-rich Windows 10 platform at your fingertips.

Here’s a closer look at the Snapdragon 850:

Always on performance
With Snapdragon 850, you’ll get support for Instant On, for on-the-go entertainment and productivity virtually anytime, anywhere — and without missing a beat. Thanks to Instant On, your PC will be ready whenever you are.

The Snapdragon 850 features an incredibly efficient battery, to keep you powered for days on a single charge**. With up to 25 hours of continuous local video playback or multi-day battery life under normal usage conditions your PC will stay on for a truly mobile experience**.

Supporting a small, portable, and fan-less form factor, PCs built on the Snapdragon 850 platform are designed to support robust performance that never weighs you down. The 10nm SoC’s power-efficient architectures — including the Qualcomm Adreno 630 GPU and Qualcomm Kyro 385 CPU — are engineered to enable fast processing speeds for entertainment and productivity. Whether you’re web-browsing, gaming, creating a video, or listening to music, you can experience up to 30 percent faster performance than the previous generation.

Always connected
The Snapdragon 850 Mobile Compupte Platform is designed to support both Wi-Fi (2×2 802.11ac) and Gigabit LTE, so you benefit from consistent connectivity. And with an “always-on” screen, your device is engineered to stay connected even while in sleep or standby mode. That means your PC can continue to sync and refresh even while you’re not using it, so you can pick up right where you left off and get the most up-to-date notifications.

Thanks to the integrated Snapdragon X20 LTE modem, you can experience fiber-optic speeds with up to 1.2 Gbps LTE that support downloads at lightning speeds virtually wherever you are. And it’s not just about peak speeds; the Snapdragon X20 supports lightning fast connectivity (up to 70 percent faster than non-gigabit solutions), designed to better connect you even when there’s a weak signal or you’re on the edge of the network.

Brilliant entertainment, from capture to playback
From streaming to gaming, Snapdragon 850 is designed to deliver an immersive experience that will allow you to make the most of your entertainment. Complete with support for 10-bit HDR video and Hi-Fi surround sound, you’ll truly feel like part of another world while binge-watching Game of Thrones.

Thanks to its Qualcomm Spectra 280 ISP, the photo and video capture capabilities of the Snapdragon 850 are just as cutting-edge. With advanced low-light capabilities and 4K video capture at 60 FPS, you’ll be able to create brilliant content, and video conference, in multiple forms.

Customizable intelligence with AI
Rounding it all out is the powerful Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence Engine (AIE), which is optimized to support intelligent and compelling experiences across Snapdragon 850 powered devices. From camera and voice UI to battery life, the Qualcomm Hexagon 685 Vector DSP architecture — plus GPU and CPU optimizations — work together to run AI applications quickly and efficiently.

What’s more, this heterogeneous computing approach gives developers room to customize. With HW Acceleration with Windows ML SDK, developers have choices to support a myriad of neural networks and precisions, high quality apps, and to create their own compelling user experiences.

With this second-generation platform, Qualcomm Technologies continues to be a leader in mobile computing innovations. The Snapdragon 850 combination of powerful AI architectures, multi-day battery life**, and always-on, always-connected* capabilities is expected to redefine what mobile computing means and introduce a new class of experiences into our connected lives.

You can expect to see Snapdragon 850 powered PCs available for the holiday season this year.

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The Snapdragon 850 a processor designed specifically for Windows devices. The chip is supposed to drive a new generation of Windows on Snapdragon devices around this holiday season. Many thanks for sharing this review.